Will the Tuam excavation finally bring closure to families?

In the News podcast: Irish Times reporter Órla Ryan reflects on the decade since the Tuam revelations

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A Tuam mother and baby home memorial left at the site of the former institution in the Co Galway town. Photograph: Andrew Downes/ODAIT/PA Wire
A Tuam mother and baby home memorial left at the site of the former institution in the Co Galway town. Photograph: Andrew Downes/ODAIT/PA Wire

On Monday, preparatory works began at the former site of the mother and baby institution in Tuam, Co Galway in advance of the long-awaited excavation to identify the remains of nearly 800 infants.

The excavation, which is due to start in mid-July, takes place 11 years after research by local historian Catherine Corless found 796 children had died at the institution run by the Bon Secours religious order between 1925-1961.

How long will the excavation take, what does it expect to find and what will happen to the remains of the infants uncovered at the former mother and baby home?

Irish Times reporter Órla Ryan reflects on the decade since the Tuam revelations and the latest steps in bringing closure to family members still seeking answers.

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Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Sorcha Pollak

Sorcha Pollak

Sorcha Pollak is an Irish Times reporter specialising in immigration issues and cohost of the In the News podcast

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